On High

Precisely. I got high today. Doing Accounting.

I can hear you saying WTF.

During KH today, we learnt Simpan Kira, a.k.a. accounting, which was, indeed, great fun. Just ask Lim. I spent half the time giggling with delight. Perhaps this is, indeed, one of those strange defining moments in time, or maybe I'm just insane. All I know is that I fell in love with accounts this afternoon.

However, time flies when you scribble accounts, and so we packed up before we could finish. The moment the teacher let us out, I traipsed to the canteen to finish it up. It was that addictive. Tan Poh Kuan said he could see that it made me very happy. I wonder if it will ever repeat this feat in the future.

In other news! I'm putting one of my more ditsy, Twilight-esque essays on my blog. I wrote it around last year. Go ahead and purge.

I sat at the bench, staring at the size 12 font unseeingly. My manuscript was paper-clipped to page 37 of The Odyssey, where I decided to place it to save it from being crumpled in the savage machine that was my bag. The Odyssey was one of the many books that I could never stomach, and sacrificed it I did. It survived the day, however. Biting my lip, I decided to actually make an effort to read. My head was jam-packed with oddly excited voices, so I had to murmur under my breath.

I sat on the stone bench, staring at the size 12 font unseeingly. My manuscript was paper-clipped to page 37 of The Odyssey, where I decided to place it to save it from being crumpled in the savage animal that was my bag. The Odyssey was one of the many books that I could never stomach, and I had no qualms about sacrificing it. It survived the day, however. Biting my lip, I decided to actually make an effort to read my story. My head was jam-packed with oddly excited voices, blurring out the noises of the outside world and the voice inside my mind that usually read in silence, so I had to murmur under my breath. The words I muttered were unheard by any other person at the crowded bus-stop.


“’He tweaked his bowtie, carefully checking his tuxedo in the long mirror. Even as he – ’ fine, I give up!” Frustration filled me like it always did at my poor persistance. Not a word had registered in my brain. I could never pull this off. Just stare at the words, I thought to myself. Stare at the words. I would never have thought of doing this, but my unwittingly stupid mind devised this plan, and dragged me along for the ride. So here I was. Waiting, prop in hand. Just waiting.


“The Odyssey, huh?”


I looked up, and finally, there he was. Instantly, I felt like an idiot.


“I’m not actually reading it. Double-checking my story, to be honest.” Drat his piercing eyes. He knew perfectly well that I was hyperaware of him, jolting at every step closer he took, that I had been waiting for this, planning to the last second. He knew too well that I wasn’t reading at all, that the moving of my eyes was a complete façade. And he could hear my breath quickening, see my ears pricking to catch every word he said. My pupils must have dilated an inch to see all of him. I sounded ridiculous. I looked homely. My pose was awkward. Self-consciousness chained me down to the rack and twisted.


My friends were definitely blind. He was the most amazing person I had ever laid eyes on. I could testify to that. And now he looked at my book – avoiding my gawk, maybe? I looked down also. The manuscript was tugged gently out of the paper clip and my hands, but I couldn’t have refused him anyway. I closed the book, before turning to him to see his reaction. He read with amazing speed, I noticed; his eyes darted back and forth at the speed of sound. Okay, that was an exaggeration, but it wasn’t all that far off from the truth. Within those five minutes, he handed it back to me.


“That’s great, Lils. What’re you planning to do with it?”


I shrugged, trying to act nonchalant as my spirits soared and plunged with a swiftness to rival that of a jet plane. Of course he would say that, I laughed at myself. What else would he say? He had to be polite. “Nothing. It was just for fun.”


He looked genuinely disappointed. “That’s a waste of a good story. Oh well. Gotta go now. Bye!”


I waved, smiling at him, a featherbrained giggle threatening to escape the upturned corners of my lips. Turning around, I walked away, my ears ringing with his bass-toned voice, my eyes tinted by the bliss of his smile. Today seemed like a perfect day, and I looked forward to tomorrow. Maybe I would save this story, I mused. Put it somewhere secure, make sure the silverfish don't get to it. I whistled as I skipped back home.


I didn't know the surprise that awaited me tomorrow. The bittersweet surprise.